Naive or Knucklehead

Okay: I was raised an Army Brat and my Father and Mother and their friends used the old fashioned term a lot, almost always in a laughing conversation about either themselves or a mutual friend who had done something silly. I thought the term applied to the subject matter of this post, so I have posted a picture of one of the most beautiful motorcycle engines ever built and one that is highly sought after and is very expensive; and the engine's name [below in the label] is also the descriptive term I grew up hearing at the parties Mom and Dad threw and those they took me to until I was old enough to stay home ~ and in the Army that was every weekend, either Friday or Saturday night. It is a term of endearment and at the same time one acknowledging stubbornness to a fault, usually used in a good humored way. With that said, here is what I have to say: I have seen some of the most god-awful agreements seeking to be modified that in almost every case are presented by a prospective client who is well educated, and earning an above average income. How in the world they decided to sign an agreement without an attorney's advice and counsel is bewildering, still beyond me: alimony for life with no ability to modify for any reason ~ Wow! joint custody that is not joint at all but is completely ones-sided with no support despite dramatically disparate incomes ~ college with no cap on the amount to be paid ~ Wow! Please: Don't do your own dentistry, surgery, engineering or legal work if you are not working in your profession and even then don't do it!

WE MOVED TOWARD SHARPSBURG & PEACHTREE CITY!

We moved our office last month to 1665 Hwy 34 E, Suite 300, Newnan, GA  30265.  Yes, that address is in The Summit Professional Park.  We are just west of The Healthplex - across a parking lot in the new building in the Park.  We are proud to be neighbors of The Healthplex, The YMCA and The Delta Credit Union.  We love it out here in Coweta County as close to Peachtree City as we are to Newnan. Call us today for an appointment if you have need of an Attorney or Lawyer:  

770-253-7778

$95 Million Dollar sexual harassment verdict: A Message Sent

   

An Illinois awarded $95 million to a woman who said a manager sexually assaulted her at an Aaron Rents store in Fairview Heights, Ill.  The award includes $80 million in punitive damages, $13.5 million in compensatory damages and $1.5 million in further compensatory damage.  Under the recent punitive damages line of cases ruled on by the Supreme Court the award will probably be substantially reduced.

     The woman Plaintiff was an employee of Aaron Rents Inc. who claimed the store manager was inappropriately touching her and that she complained to corporate management who ignored her complaints.  The Manager got more bold and eventually, thinking he was empowered to do whatever he wanted because the Plaintiff was being ignored, sexually assaulted the woman.  Once the woman hired a lawyer and sued, 'out of the blue' Aaron's paid attention and proclaimed that the Manager's conduct was unknown and far outside the scope of his employment and that of the course the whole thing is the lawyer's fault for blowing the thing out of proportion ... and the jurors were stupid idiots for being angry at Aaron's ... and the verdict shows how the justice system is broken ~ whatever!    The corporate mentality is really unbelievable.  It is apparently the desire and goal to have us all stick our collective heads in the sand and believe whatever crap the US Chamber of Commerce wants to put out there, that organization that gets its whore money from the payday loan companies [now banking industry] that now control it ... or just maybe we actually have brains and can figure out that the jury in this case was angered by Aaron's arrogance and decided to send a message.  Yes the verdict is too much.  But by the same token, the arrogance of the corporate mentality that insists that a lawsuit be filed to seek justice,  must be examined.  

The Role of The Lawyer

Law, Witnesses, Documentary Evidence are the ingredients of every case.  The Attorney is responsible for knowing the Law.  The client for knowing the Witnesses and the Evidence.  Once these ingredients are accumulated

the Lawyer then becomes the Producer, Director and Creator of the product that will be presented to the Judge or Jury.  A simple analogy is that of baking a cake:  Ingredients coordinated incorrectly and baked at the wrong temperature will not yield a good result.  A recent case of alienation presented us with a mess:  Too many witnesses, too many documents; no episodic evident, just a myriad of anecdotes, insinuations, nasty but short comments; an attitude, however, that clearly presented created a mosaic of bad conduct that in turn was a clear picture of a campaign of parental alienation.  The problem presented was how to Produce the presentation to be effective and not the proverbial 'herding cats' debacle that would quickly turn into boring mush that would bring the Judge's instruction "I've heard enough of this now let's move on" which would in turn cast the remaining numerous anecdotes with insignificance and then immateriality.  It is the Attorneys job to correctly meld the witnesses and documents to present a clear and dynamic presentation to the Judge and, or, Jury.  That task is not easy and will not happen without significant reflective thought about how to do it effectively and clearly with the ultimate goal being to present the case with simple ringing truth without browbeating everyone in the Courtroom.  Experience and dedication at every turn is invaluable.

GEORGIA FAMILY LAW JOURNAL: Winter 2011

Here is the link to the Winter Volume of the Georgia State Bar Journal: LINK. it contains a lot of good articles this edition. If you or someone close to you is going through tough times at home please review the articles. Maybe one or two will have a little information for you. If you need to refer someone to a lawyer, call us: 770-253-7778

NEWNAN PRATLAW|| 14th amendment essay

The Supreme Court is reviewing a Chicago gun ban statute this term. The case is McDonald v. Chicago. This is what little I can recall from his interview with Nina Totenberg (PBS): Mr. McDonald, an elderly man, was upset that on 3 different occasions "Utes" came to his home to "visit", would not leave when he asked, demanded that they vacate his property and then stole everything he owned that was valuable. Mr. McDonald decided to purchase a gun to help him persuade the "Utes" the next time they came to visit that they should leave his home without looting it. Mr. McDonald's acts were apparently illegal according to Chicago's handgun ban. Legally, the case poses the prospect of the Supreme Court finally issuing a decision as to the extent of the scope of the 14th amendment and if they take on that topic the case could be one of the most important cases in our lifetime. It is more likely that the Court will just strike down the handgun ban and limit its decision to the specific statute. I posted the link on my blog at HOT LEGAL TOPICS [Click it to go there]. Hope you find the topic relevant enough to follow and keep up with the Court's decision.

Newnan Lawyer Pratlaw's Essay On Documents

...when it comes to documents.

Over the past 23 years I have come to appreciate the fact that Judges as a whole do not like being given documents with highlighted passages or handwritten notes beside the part of the document you think is important. Doing that is really close to a demand that the Court become a participant in the blind men and the elephant philosophical exercise about the scope of perception: The Blind Men And The Elephant Fable and they do not like the Socratic Method to the extreme of banality, i.e., rain is rain you cannot assert you do not understand it until someone explains it to you and you "feel" it. What all this means in plain English is: (a) The Judge controls his or her court room and no one else has any right to control it. So make a copy of any document you feel the urge to write on, so your lawyer can present the 'clean' one to the Judge and draw the Judge's attention to the passage you have highlighted in your 'dirty' copy by asking the Court's permission to draw its attention to that passage; (b) A testifier's inability to grasp easy questions and evasive answers soon turns a Judge off [and a Jury Too]. Do not engage in Tabula Rasa Socratic Responses [inane question answers to straightforward questions], and; always remember: Neither Judge nor Jury need to be hit over the head with information they can clearly see or hear. They really can be trusted to figure it out.

2010 BIG CHANGES FOR THE GOOD

R. KEITH PRATER, P.C. will change its name over the course of 2010 to PRATER & ASSOCIATES as Attorney John D. Duncan has associated with the Firm. Keith Prater is excited about the prospect of mentoring John in the beginning of his practice. John has worked hard to gain his law license and has since associating with the Firm proven himself more than capable, winning outright his first trial, a difficult modification of child support and medical payments case, and obtaining a Not Guilty verdict in his second trial in a misdemeanor case. John's association will allow the firm to handle all the calls coming in from prospective clients many of which were not being returned as the firm's practice grew so large over the past two years that on multiple occasions new prospective client calls were not returned because workload and returning existing client calls consumed the entire workday. We have since John cam on board in October been promptly returning calls more than 95% of the time.

CONTACT ME FOR AN APPOINTMENT

EMAIL ME BY GOING TO MY WEBSITE AND FILLING IN THE EMAIL FORM AT THE BOTTOM OF THE MAIN PAGE OR CALL FOR AN APPOINTMENT TODAY: 770-253-7778

IF YOU CALL ME AND WE DON'T HIT IT OFF I WILL ...

REFER YOU TO ANOTHER GREAT LOCAL LAWYER OR TWO OR THREE TO CHOOSE FROM. THERE IS NO ONE GREAT WIZARD OF OZ LAWYER HERE OR ANYWHERE BUT THERE ARE A NUMBER OF REALLY GREAT ONES AROUND HERE ||||

WITH THAT OUT OF THE WAY, here is a repost with solid logic for you to consider:

First: always consult face to face with an attorney regarding any matter that is serious to you.

Second: The ancient mathmatical logic mandate is alive and well today: "All things being equal the simplest answer is the correct answer". This is the anglicization of the latin maxim attributed to the mathematician Ockham, called "Ockham or Occam's Razor": Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem or "Entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily."

Third: The 'Devil Is In The Details', always was, and always will be. || The hard decision is deciding when all things are in fact equal and what the things are that are equal. That is where experienced legal counsel comes in ~

Fourth: Experience is not just a linear time continuim but also requires/mandates actual real involvement in significant disputes and litigation; a lawyer could, after all, get his/her license, go to sleep like Rumpelstiltskin, wake up 50 years later and parade around proclaiming "Come see me!! I am a Lawyer with 50 years experience" ~ of course the experience would be that he or she had been asleep at the wheel for the past 50 years! Unfortunately some lawyers proclaim just about that.

Fifth: Experience is a great teacher - being asleep at the wheel not so much. Hire a great lawyer with real life experience and a lot of it.

Peachtree City Top Lawyer

If you are about to go through a divorce, custody dispute, or support modification you want to make sure that you are represented by a great lawyer. How can you make sure that you get everything you want and that the divorce is clean and final if you don’t have good and real legal representation? A divorce lawyer can smooth out the process for you and help you understand the ‘fine print’ of divorce proceedings. You are going to want to work with one of the top divorce lawyers you can find in your area and this article will give you the edge in your search for the divorce lawyer you need to hire. Now don’t take the attitude that you don’t have the money to hire and work with a top divorce lawyer in your area. Though your apprehension is normal, especially since the top divorce lawyers in any area can charge top dollar–way beyond the budget of any ordinary person about to go through a divorce, you need to know that getting on the short list of top divorce lawyers in your area requires a lot of success and that comes from doing a lot of cases not just the million dollar ones. So what makes a top divorce lawyer? Is it the law school he or she attended; the number of high-profile divorces under his or her belt; the cost of legal fees being charged? While these are usual considerations in making that determination, there are others. Top divorce lawyers don’t soar to the top just because they are hired by famous people or because they charge a lot to represent you; they get to the top by hard work hard and by building a good reputation with the Courts as lawyers that are fair and negotiate cases well and when in front of the Court are there for serious business and not for minor details or ridiculous assertions. You will know that you are working with one of the top divorce lawyers when you witness for yourself the lawyer’s level of professionalism. He or she will know the ins and outs of divorce and family law, and the lawyer will take a keen interest in every detail of your case and offer you some words of wisdom based on his or her experience from years before the Court your case is in. He or she will also stay on top of developments in divorce law, and will be constantly adding to his or her knowledge by attending divorce and family law seminars. You also know that you’re dealing with a good lawyer if he or she really takes time to talk to you and learn about your case and discuss strategic ways to present the case in the best light for successfully reaching your goals. Keep in mind that the top divorce lawyers are usually in high demand, and secure them immediately. And be forewarned that a top divorce lawyer is not one that requires a huge up front fee but is one that has a large hourly rate. Don't fear that large hourly rate as a top divorce lawyer will bill fairly and frequently won't charge for short calls and short office visits. Call PRATER & ASSOCIATES today to talk to a top lawyer: 770-253-7778

PTC Yasmin Lawyer Information

Yasmin contraception tablets are having negative side effects on patients. If you have been taking Yasmin, you should be vigilant and concerned, especially if you smoke or already have heart issues. These are the women that are most at risk of suffering severe side effects from taking Yasmin, although studies show that it can happen to any woman taking the medicine! If you notice a trouble breathing, unnecessary vaginal bleeding, or the commencement of migraines or if you are diagnosed as having liver afflictions, blood clots, gallbladder damage, or some other unusual health issue that is causing you concern you need to seek medical help and a lawyer that knows how to pursue a products liability claim [failure to warn] now before valuable evidence in your case is “lost” or disappears or is forgotten. Lawyers all over the country are putting together lawsuits including class actions against Bayer, the company that manufactures Yasmin: Yasmin contains a diuretic which can raise or lower the quantity of potassium in the body which in turn, can end up in atypical heart rhythms and poor circulation bringing on blood clots and heart attacks. In October, 2008, the FDA wrote a letter to Bayer accusing it of false advertising and in response, Bayer started a $20 million corrective advert campaign however, for many women the damage has been done already. In 2008 alone there were over 240 million units of Yasmin produced and although sales have dropped significantly there are still thousands of women taking the medication. It has been alleged that there have been more than 50 women have died as a direct result of taking Yasmin, one death involved a 17-year-old girl who died after only 6 months of Yasmin use. Since there are still so many women that have taken Yasmin and suffered health problems and these cases yet to be processed it is likely that a class action suit might be started in the future. A class action legal action is one that’s filed on behalf of a large number of victims. It is usually recommended that any one taking Yasmin switch to some other form of birth control as quickly as possible. If you’ve already been taking Yasmin and have noticed a change in your health or worse have develop serious side-effects, google Pratlaw ga and contact R. Keith Prater, P.C. “If we can’t help you we will know who can” means that if we do not file your claim ourselves we will coordinate you into one of the class actions that have or will be filed.

Peachtree City Lawyer Pratlaw Essay on A Tort

A tort is a non-contractual wrong that violates a reasonable standard of conduct as defined in our society. In the context of a personal injury claim damages are given when a tort causes injury. Laws have been written to protect you from the carelessness of others. These laws cover a various range of injuries, whiplash, negligence, carelessness and falls caused by something that the owner of the property you were hurt on knows was there or should have known was there. The most routine injury case involves over a hundred statutes [actual written laws] and at least a hundred Judge written opinions [caselaw]. Any one seriously injured has to have the
help of an experienced personal injury lawyer even when their injury might seemingly be the result of a series of events that at first thought appears to be happenstance. The injury might have simply been due to carelessness, or carelessness, concerning the safety of others. An easier way to think about it is a failure to use care when reason dictates that it is needed. Some of the most typical reasons to communicate with a injury attorney due to such a failure are: vehicle collisions and wrecks, malpractice, or accidents caused by improper design.
In order for your injury lawyer to win your negligence case, four standards must be be met: 1.) it has to be clear that there is a societal a duty to the accuser that the tortfeasor failed to meet; most collisions involve an investigation into whether the tortfeasor was driving in a safe and careful manner; 2.) The facts have to clearly show that the duty was violated, and; 3.) You were injured. Personal injury lawyers focus on the dominate cause of the accident, not necessarily the closest event in a chain of events but the dominate event. In some instances multiple causes might have participated in causing your injury and that might involve multiple parties & companies. An injury can leave a massive result on your life and of course no one can argue that you should be compensated fully for all your suffering and trouble. Get in contact with an injury attorney before precious evidence is lost or forgotten or worse, purposefully destroyed.

Your Personal Attorney

There is a great Consumer's Guide written by a woman in Seattle, Washington called, Hiring a Great Lawyer: [click to it at left]

In her pamphlet she has an evaluation form that grades a lawyer from (5)[exceptional] to (1) [unsatisfactory] in 13 catagories [several of which I take exception] ... but overall I scored a 58 out of 65 .

I graded out exceptional [the highest rating ~5] in 10 of the 13:
(1) Number of years practicing law (15+);
(2) Trial Experience (goes to trial several time a year);
(3) Wins at trial (dramatically exceed settlement offers);
(4) Understanding of or experience with injury cases that are similar to mine (frequently handles similar cases ~ not many I have not handled in quantity over the years);
(5) Quality of Website;
(6) Excellent Client Case Studies;
(7) Excellent Client References;
(8) Knowledgeable and Confident ;
(9) Understands Uniqueness of Every Case and Listens to Client;
(10)Staff is great.

I graded out "Exceeds Expectations" (4) in 1 of the 13:
(11) Specializes In Personal Injury Law because while I do not only do personal injury law I have years of actual trial experience, wins at trial (99%) and over (90% of the time I have dramatically exceeded settlement offers in those wins.
I graded out "Meets Expectations" (3)in 1 of the 13:
(12)Awards and Distinctions because while I am well known in this area for success at trial and I have had many awards and distinctions I have not been recognized by the news media to date.
go to the website posted and print off the grading sheet at the end of the pamphlet and do your own evaluation.
(13) I graded out unsatisfactory (1) in a single catagory, the area of published articles and public speaking: [there are only so many hours in a day adn I work approximately 11 hours a day 5 days a week and then several hours each weekend]

Albert Einstein Said Some Pretty Smart Things

"All that is valuable in human society depends upon the opportunity for development accorded the individual"

"Confusion of goals and perfection of means seems, in my opinion, to characterize our age."
[this applies to the successful practice of law as much as any other single maxim I know of]

"Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking."

"Anyone who doesn't take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones either." [In my experience this is a Judge favorite]

"As far as I'm concerned, I prefer silent vice to ostentatious virtue."
[Another Judge favorite I have found]

"God always takes the simplest way."

"Anger dwells only in the bosom of fools."

LET'S START WITH THE BASICS

First thing: always consult face to face with a lawyer regarding any matter that is serious to you.

Second: The ancient mathmatical logic mandate is alive and well today: "All things being equal the simplest answer is the correct answer". This is the anglicization of the latin maxim attributed to the mathematician Ockham, called "Ockham or Occam's Razor": Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem or "Entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily."

The 'Devil Is In The Details', always was and always will be: The hard decision is deciding when all things are in fact equal and what the theings are that are equal. That is where experienced legal counsel comes in ~ experience is not just a linear time continuim but also requires actual real involvement in significant disputes and litigation. A lawyer could, after all, get his/her license, go to sleep like Rumpelstiltskin and wake up 50 years later and parade around proclaim "Lawyer here with 50 years experience"; and unfortunately some do just about that.

Experience is a great teacher. Hire a lawyer with experience and a lot of it.

ADVISE AND COUNSEL

If you are searching for a personal attorney or one for a small business, then perhaps you have happened upon the right lawyer. Over the past 23 years I have gained vast and deep experience in a huge spectrum of law: From my beginnings as a law clerk in an insurance defense firm in Birmingham, Alabama doing work for Allstate Insurance and Cincinnati Insurance, to clerking at the University of Alabama's Office of Counsel where I worked on contracts ~ for Bill Curry then coach of the Criminson Tide football team - concert's by Traffic, Chicago, Jethro Tull, Joni Mitchell, Little Feat, Jay Leno to name but a few ~ and Estates and Endowments which left multimillion dollar estates to the University, even worked on employment disputes involving tenured professors. I was honored to have been chosen to help in such complex legal matters for my Alma Mater.

I started my law practice right here in Peachtree City in the law firm of Glover & davis, PA, under the mentorship of Jim Webb and John Stuckey, who taught me well. Very soon I was also working on cases for Litt Glover and Ed Gartin learning and practing complex construction litigation and arbitration.

Within 4 years I was offered a full equity partnership in Glover & Davis and of course I jumped at the honor and opportunity and bought in as soon as I could.